Laying Claim
by Auto-Regen
Summary: Follows 'What Makes a Hero'. Sephiroth has an unhealthy attachment to his guardian, and seeing the man with Zack sets his blood on fire.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, guys. Been doing revisions to 'Unwound'. Only the prologue and the first chapter are fixed though (I can't catch every mistake, but I'm trying really hard to get everything running smoothly). I'm hoping that inspiration strikes and I can finish the others quickly, until then editing is just a thorn in my side. This idea was just something that popped up in my head while I was working on some original stuff, and I figured I'd put it down in a Word document. I know it's a little different from the other two stories in the series, but as time progresses... things happen and feelings change. :/

Thank you for all of the views and such. Gives me the warm fuzzies, really it does. :3

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><p>"I'm not going to break. Attack me, Zack!" the blond yelled at his young student; when the boy still hesitated to listen to him, he planting a restrained kick to the his solar plexus.<p>

Zack hit the ground hard, sprawling out and gasping as the air was knocked out of his lungs. His teacher waited patiently for him to regain his breath and recover from the shocking hit. The black haired teen wheezed loudly as he took in all the air he could.

Watering sky blue eyes turned up to meet calm ocean blue, eyes that glowed like nothing the teen had ever seen before. His teacher's pretty face was neutral as he watched the boy with a calculating eyes. Zack took in Cloud's appearance for the umpteenth time in the past few months. Since he had become a teenager, and even before, he had begun to notice just how good looking the blonde man was.

A pretty face, boyish looking but pretty all the same. Cloud had big eyes, as blue as the ocean, with an eerily beautiful glow to them. His nose was straight and slightly upturned, with freckles sprinkled across the bridge and over his cheeks. Pink lips that were plump and soft looking, kissable. The man looked the same as the first time Zack had ever seen him, all those years ago. He hadn't aged a day, his body had only gained new scars. Cloud wasn't a tall man, shorter than most, with a lean, toned frame. A body that moved with the fluidity of water, and the stealth an assassin. That body had been the focus of some of his most embarrassing, and awkward, teenage fantasies.

Zack felt an aroused flush accompany the one of exertion that had spread across his face. His body had begun to react to the sight of the blonde, standing before him, looking as powerful as ever. He would die of embarrassment if Cloud ever found out about his thoughts concerning the man.

"C-Can we take a break?… Please, Cloud. I just need a break for a little bit," the teen beseeched his teacher. Hoping that the blonde would take pity on him and grant his simple request.

The blonde man considered his words, and after a few moments gave him a curt nod before sheathing his sword and walking over to help his student to his feet.

From a distance, emerald eyes glared at the scene before him. Green eyed watched his guardian easily pulled his younger student to his feet. Zack was growing quickly, nearly as tall as Cloud and he was only thirteen. He watched with a growing feeling of discomfort in his gut, as Cloud brushed some dirt off of the black haired boy. Zack only blushed and thanked the blonde, clearly smitten with the man that become his teacher.

Sephiroth sneered at the thought of his guardian taking someone as small and weak as Zack. True, the boy was growing stronger every day, but he would always pale in comparison to the blonde idol that had taken him under his wing.

Sephiroth viewed his guardian as an angel, almost a god really. The man had come out of nowhere and risen against an entire army. He had taken down a mega corporation, a terrorist organization, and some kind alien threat; all before taking Sephiroth in and raising him.

The silver haired teen knew that he had had an unhealthy attachment to the man since the first day he had met him. Cloud had become his idol, his hero, his god. A beautiful Angel of Death that had come to save him from a life of torture at the hands of the man that had claimed to be his father; Hojo, if he recalled correctly. He had become obsessed with his guardian, in time it had become something so much stronger. This strong feeling was nagging at him now as he saw Zack heading back into his house, leaving Cloud standing at the edge of town looking amused.

Sephiroth would have felt like a bully in any other situation, Cloud had raised him to treat others fairly, unless they were rude first; But he had always told him to be nice to Zack, even when the boy annoyed the hell out of him. They were nine years apart and for the most part, Sephiroth just saw Zack as an immature little kid, only recently had he started seeing him as a rival. He knew he could beat the boy in a contest of physical strength, but when it came to Cloud… the man was extremely fond of the boy and would let him get away with murder, if he tried.

Sephiroth headed to the Fair house, knowing that Mr. and Mrs. Fair would be out at that time of day. Cloud didn't seem to give any inclination that he noticed his silver haired ward making his way toward his young student. Sephiroth was just fine with that.

The silver haired young man opened the door quietly and slid into the house, intending to have a few words with Zackary Fair. He should have been expecting it when he found the boy, it was only obvious that he would seek relief from his problem; and yet it still took him by surprise when he opened the boy's bedroom door, finding him sitting on the edge of his bed with his pants around his ankles and his boxers pulled down to expose his still developing prick. Sephiroth stared for a moment before looking up at Zack's flushed face.

Zack's hand was frozen around the middle of his erection, his face lit up out of embarrassment. "S-Sephiroth! What are you doing?" he hollered before he could stop himself. The boy scrambled to get himself covered up, and out of the range of those startling green eyes.

Sephiroth shushed him, "Do you want Cloud to come running in, and see you in this condition?" He could almost hear Zack swallow a lump in his throat at the thought. It was quite amusing really.

"N-no…" Zack whispered softly, his eyes downcast and his face pink under all that tan skin.

"Good, now listen," Sephiroth began sternly. His voice far colder than he realized, "Cloud is… mine, I will not let you interfere with that. He has been with me since I was a child, and I'm not going to let some… brat. Take him away from me." Sephiroth felt his blood boil at the thought of anyone but himself with the blonde. "I will not stand for such a thing, I'd rather kill him than see him with anyone else…"

Zack looked more alarmed than hurt at Sephiroth's words. The silver haired young man realized the severity of his words after they had left his mouth. They stayed in a dead silence for what felt like an eternity.

Zack finally spoke, his jaw tense, "That… that's sick, Sephiroth. I think you need help… because you've got a really fucked up way of showing that you love someone."

Before Zack could run his mouth anymore, Sephiroth cut in, "What would you do? If the only person that ever cared about you in the entirety of your life chose another, what would you do?… I could just kill you, or the other person… but that would only make him push me away. If I killed him, I wouldn't have the problem of others falling in love with the only person that has ever meant anything to me…"

Zack floundered for an answer, almost seeing logic behind Sephiroth's words. Cloud was a quiet man, but he was a kind one… one that would give another the shirt off of his back if he knew that they needed it. He was a likeable man, easy for one to love. "I kinda see where you'd get that…" Zack answered unsurely, "But, shouldn't you just be happy that he holds you so dear in the first place. It's not his fault that he's the way he is, people just see a… light in him. Remember, you told me he's a hero… people love heroes…"

Sephiroth lowered his head, letting his bangs shadow his eyes. He felt more conflicted than ever about his feelings. Before Zack could say anything else he turned and left, leaving the boy's bedroom door wide open.


	2. Chapter 2

It wasn't easy, sharing the man that he loved so deeply. Cloud's good deeds created a network of people that admired and adored the blonde.

There was the black man in North Corel, he was loud and crude; but also kind in his own way. He would often treat the blonde to drinks when he visited. Everyone in North Corel seemed to love Cloud, because the man had taken down Shin-Ra, and put a stop to the extremists within AVALANCHE. The black man, Barret if he remembered correctly, had even given the blonde a nickname, 'Spiky'. He was friendly with the blonde, patting him on the back, throwing an arm over his shoulder as they walked, all in front of his wife; who didn't seem to care one bit…

Then there was the creature in Cosmos Canyon, a red lion with a flaming tail. He would rub his face against the blonde's in a gesture of affection. Cloud had done something for him, though Sephiroth had never figured out what.

Cid and Shera, who Sephiroth had known since he was a child. Cloud had helped Cid build his airship, and forewarned him of events to come. The pilot had doubted the blonde, but reconsidered for some reason. Sephiroth remembered living with the foul mouthed man and Shera for most of his childhood, before moving to Gongaga. Cid would always greet Cloud with a rowdy hello, and a cup of tea. The two would talk for hours about mechanics and other things that didn't interest the silver haired young man. Shera would still dote over Sephiroth like he was a child, making him uncomfortable and fidgety.

The owner of the chocobo farm… he seemed to be overly fond of the blonde, and would often spend hours watching the man tend to his chocobos. Sephiroth had put a stop to that when he discovered the man staring at his guardian's backside.

There was a girl and her family that lived in the Icicle Inn town. Cloud often brought the girl flowers, she couldn't be much older than Zack; she would blush and thank him quietly. Her parents were very fond of the blonde, often asking if there was anything that they could do for him. Sephiroth had gone along once, his presence had frightened the girl and her mother, and left the father speechless. Cloud had later explained that the man, Professor Gast Faremis, had done research with Sephiroth's late 'father'; and contributed to the research that made up the silver haired young man's DNA. He had known that Sephiroth had lived, he had been at Shin-Ra during Cloud's attack to rescue the boy, and was only spared because he was Aerith's father. He often thanked the blonde for freeing him from Shin-Ra's shackles. Ifalna, the mother, fussed over Cloud like a mother hen; often telling him to take better care of himself.

Then there was that woman and her bodyguard… Lucrecia Crescent and Vincent Valentine. Lucrecia had been the first woman that Sephiroth had met after he came into Cloud's custody. The silver haired boy had learned that the woman was his mother, and that she had been part of the project; willingly. Cloud hadn't given the woman the chance to take Sephiroth. After letting her see the boy he had taken him to leave, while leaving he was confronted by a red eyed man. A man that seemed to think that Lucrecia should be the one to take care of Sephiroth, Cloud outright told him 'No.' and breezed past him. He had given the woman permission to visit the boy, and had given her his PHS number to keep in contact; that was as far as he had gone with her. Vincent didn't seem to mind Cloud much, respecting his decision to take the boy and raise him, but occasionally Sephiroth could see something in the man's eyes when he would look at the blonde. It was something dark and malicious.

The little girl in Wutia, who was grateful that a mako reactor would not be placed anywhere near her home. She was young and often asked of the blonde's adventures and of the materia that he had found in his travels. Her father seemed just as grateful, welcoming the blonde and Sephiroth in with open arms when they visited.

Zack's family had also welcomed them with open arms, the whole town had. Another town grateful for the lack of a reactor. Cloud had settled in a house just on the skirt of town where he had decided to raise Sephiroth alongside Zack. Zack had feelings for Cloud that Sephiroth would not tolerate, and that Cloud was clueless about. The boy adored the blonde, wanting to hear about everything and anything the blonde would tell him.

It was all so troublesome… his guardian was so spread out between all the people that cared for him that Sephiroth feared there would be nothing left for himself. But, little things reminded him that he was special to the man. Forgetting to zip up his jacket when out in the cold, he would get a scolding and Cloud would zip him up; Not taking his mako injection, Cloud would do it for him; all the while the blonde would smile a quiet smile and tease him by asking just how old he was. Little things… things that made him feel guilty… guilty for enjoying the attention that the blonde would focus on him.

Sephiroth thought about all of this as he sat on his bed with his back against the wall, watching his guardian and savior sleep. The blonde curled in on himself and groaned, in pain from his experimental mako injections… they didn't know how much the man needed, and over the years they had yet to figure it out. It always seemed to come up too short, but it was a once a month ritual, more time and they were bound to figure it out.

Sephiroth slid off of his bed and moved over to the blonde's bedside. He knew that he couldn't simply crawl into bed with the man anymore… when he was a child it had been acceptable, but he was nearing his twenty-third birthday… Instead of curling up with the man, he brushed his fingers through spiky blonde hair and felt the man's sweating forehead. The silver haired man stood up and made his way to their small kitchen to get a bowl and some water to help the blonde a little bit with his withdrawal. Keeping him cooled down would help some, but there was only so much Sephiroth could do for the man who had done so much for him…


End file.
